It's a Seasonal Thing
by onlymystory
Summary: Okay, so Stiles lied about the whole abominable snowman alter-ego. But he didn't lie about the seasonal part. Stiles could have kept his secret too. Until he had to go and become best friends with Derek Hale. And well, cats might be curious and all, but they've got nothing on a werewolf.
1. Chapter 1

Derek's sitting on the roof outside Stiles' window—for protection, not to practice his creeper wolf routine, despite what Stiles says—when he hears a lot more movement than normal for midnight in the Stilinski house.

"Stiles, we gotta go!" yells John Stilinski from the kitchen.

Stiles is rattling thing around in his closet but he sticks his head out momentarily. "I know! Have you seen my jacket?"

"Just pick one!"

"I can't just pick one, Dad! You know how pissed Nick got last year when I showed up in that red hoodie. I spent six hours listening to him lecture about how red was his color and it would be nice if I showed just a little respect instead of infringing on other people's signatures, especially when he has to deal with our shit just to do his job."

Derek stifles a laugh, because that sounds a lot like something he'd say. He can hear Stiles finally find whatever jacket he was missing and barrel down the stairs.

"Find it?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go. Eira hates when we're late."

Derek can practically hear John rolling his eyes. "Thank you, son. I'd missed that over the last seventeen years."

Then the house goes silent. For a second Derek wonders how John got Stiles to be quiet so quickly.

Except the house is too quiet. Like there's no one there.

Derek gives it another five minutes, listening with all of his focus before he swings through Stiles' window and investigates.

Stiles' room is exactly as he expects. The bed's rumpled like Stiles was on his stomach reading, then sat up to eat whatever he made for dinner, and finally gave up and kicked his way off the bed to move to his computer.

If Stiles had fallen asleep at all, the blankets would be rolled to the right.

Derek chooses to ignore that he knows the different ways Stiles' bed sheets look.

The closet is a disaster, probably from Stiles' frantic search for a jacket.

Most of the floor is clean, though there are papers and books scattered all over the desk. Derek always finds it fascinating that Stiles is a fairly neat person in general, only creating messes in areas that demand his focus.

A closer glance at the desk reveals that Stiles was researching traits of an alpha pack, history of past alpha packs and how to defeat them, and methods of self-defense.

There's one odd book about ice but Derek sees no other notes on it so he dismisses it as something that's actually for one of Stiles' classes.

He smiles to himself at the sight of Stiles' cartoon doodles of wolves in the margins of his notes, before recovering and scowling. And when he remembers he's alone, the smile comes back again.

But Derek is definitely not thinking about the way Stiles' odd habits make him happy.

He lingers a little longer than he should in Stiles' room. Stiles has gotten used to him being there over the last few months and they've reached a comfortable camaraderie. But he still doesn't get to have the time to get to know Stiles as well as he would like to.

For Derek, simple observation isn't just a weird lurking habit as Stiles likes to joke. It gives him a sense of knowing people, associating sounds and smells and mannerisms until he feels like he knows someone inside and out. And when he knows someone, he can tell when something is off. It's saved his life—and others—several times at this point.

And there are just certain aspects of Stiles that he hasn't nailed down yet, mostly because Stiles will start talking or moving and Derek gets distracted by the way Stiles' lips twitch before he breaks into a smile or how his fingers wrap around a pencil.

Derek gets distracted a lot when he's around Stiles.

He doesn't really even know how it started. At some point Stiles made him come over for information on why there was an Alpha pack in town and now Derek's over at the Stilinski house several times a week.

It's beginning to feel like home.

Still, he moves through the rest of the house quickly. There's definitely no one in the house. The door hasn't opened and only Stiles' window was left open. But John and Stiles are gone.

Derek spends a few minutes sitting at the kitchen table, trying to figure out where the hell they went, before he goes back upstairs.

His intent is to exit through the window and come back tomorrow with a couple pack members to figure out what happened. There's a small part of him that feels like he should be more concerned, but there was no struggle, and the two Stilinski men clearly planned on leaving. He hates feeling like he's missing part of the story.

It used to be that his routine when not having the whole truth was to act like a raging douchebag around people. In his defense, a lot of the time that lack of knowledge gets people killed.

Stiles is the one who started making him sleep it off and deal with problems when he was calmer. If Stiles had to literally sprawl on top of Derek like an octopus the first time, Derek's not saying a word. Now of course, he'd love to have Stiles on top of him. That moment however…just a lot of elbows and knees jamming into sensitive skin.

Derek thinks about how this would go if it involved any other member of the pack. They'd talk, he'd say what he wants to try, Stiles would research to make sure they had all the facts, and then they'd go to sleep for whatever was left of the night.

He's starting to realize that Stiles being gone is allowing him to see just how much their lives and habits have merged together.

More surprising is that it doesn't scare him.

Derek laughs to himself when he thinks about how Peter would tell him he's becoming a real boy.

Not that Peter's opinion matters.

Though Peter was the one to convince Stiles to wear tighter clothes.

No. Derek is not going to feel grateful to his crazy undead uncle for encouraging his attraction to a seventeen year old.

He's not.

Derek tells himself he'll just lie down for an hour. It's 3am at this point, no sense in waking Scott up too early.

He grabs his sweats out of the top dresser drawer, not even registering that he's here so much that Stiles made space in a drawer, and crawls under the covers.

The comforting smell of Stiles lingers on the pillows and Derek's asleep within seconds.

He wakes up to an arm sprawled across his chest and the warmth of sunshine hitting the bed.

"Morning sourwolf," says Stiles with a sleepy smile, lifting his head just enough to acknowledge that Derek is awake.

"I'm not a sourwolf," gripes Derek. He doesn't know why Stiles persists with the nickname. "I don't grouch at you anymore."

"You're grouching right now," teases Stiles. "But I call you sourwolf now because of your weird love of sour candy. Normal people do not eat crybabies by the handful."

Stiles pushes himself up to a sitting position and swivels around so he's facing Derek.

It's a familiar move for Derek to prop himself up on an elbow and stare back at Stiles. He takes a brief moment to wonder if once he gets his courage up enough to ask Stiles out, if he could have moments like this forever.

There's an odd security in the fact that Derek thinks the latter is more likely than rejection.

The distraction in the form of Stiles' toned shoulders and bright eyes keeps Derek occupied a little longer than he intends.

Stiles finally breaks the silence. "So uh, what brought you to my house in the middle of the night?"

Derek shakes his head to clear it. "Oh, I wanted to see you."

"Really?" Stiles' entire face lights up at the words.

He takes another minute to wonder if he's really been that bad at telling Stiles how much their friendship has meant to him over the last few months. "Well yeah. I like being here. It's safe."

"Oh. I um, I like having you here," says Stiles softly and Derek reflects again on how amazed he is that somewhere in the past six months, Stiles became his best friend.

"Where'd you go though?" asks Derek, finally remembering the point of him staying over.

"Go?" questions Stiles.

Derek nods. "I was waiting for your dad to go to sleep and I heard you two talking about needing to leave. But then it was quiet and I couldn't find you. So I waited."

"Huh," says Stiles. "Maybe you fell asleep sooner than you thought? Had a weird dream? Dad and I didn't drive anywhere last night."

"But…" Derek can tell he's missing something. Stiles knows how to word things just right and Derek usually can't catch on quickly enough to figure it out. Yet another reason he's glad Stiles is normally on his side. "I really don't think I was dreaming."

Stiles grins at him. "C'mon Derek. I swear I never walked out the door. I found you in my bed and took advantage of a warm cuddly wolf. And you were out of it. You sure you've been getting enough sleep lately?"

Derek can't help his feelings of confusion. Stiles isn't lying to him but he wasn't in the house. Derek is sure of that. But he also doesn't have an answer to how Stiles disappeared into thin air if he didn't use a normal exit and he's pretty sure he'd lose any argument right now. Stiles is being weirdly evasive but not in a deceptive way and Derek never wins when Stiles gets this way.

"Okay," he says finally.

"Do you need anything else?" asks Stiles.

Derek shakes his head. "Just be careful. The alpha pack is lying low right now but it feels like they're up to something."

Stiles nods in agreement. "Sure. Thanks for the heads up."

"Yeah." A few minutes later Derek is standing in the Stilinski yard, wondering what the hell is going on and a little unsure of how he made it outside. He hates to say it, but he needs to talk to Scott. Surely Stiles' best friend knows what's going on.


	2. Chapter 2

Naturally, Scott has no clue what Derek was talking about. For once though, this doesn't frustrate Derek as much as it should.

He and Scott are getting along slightly better, more because Stiles suggested he treat Scott like a pinch hitter and focus less on putting Scott in the pack. Derek still wants Scott with him, but the teen hasn't stopped viewing the bite as a curse and until he does, getting him to want to be part of any pack just isn't going to happen.

But his attempts at talking as equals has kept Scott from trying to threaten him at every turn.

So now, when Scott stares blankly at the idea that Stiles is disappearing from the house, Derek takes some small pleasure that Stiles is leaving both of them out.

"What do you mean, Derek? People don't just disappear into thin air," says Scott indignantly.

"I'm aware of that, Scott. But I'm telling you, I heard Stiles and his dad talking about leaving and then the house was empty. But the door never opened and neither car left."

"Are you sure you didn't just miss the door when you were busy trying to decide if Stiles smells more like daisies or sunflowers?"

Derek crosses his arms and glares at Scott.

The whole Stiles/Derek friendship was the biggest sore point for about two weeks, with Scott adamant about all the ways Derek was an evil werewolf trying to use Stiles to get to him. It took first Derek yelling that he wasn't using Stiles, that he liked Stiles and then the teen himself ripping Scott a new one for failing to notice all the times that Derek had Stiles' back. And vice versa. Allison and Isaac helped calm Scott down as well.

Two days later, Scott had decided to treat Derek like the horrible older brother who stole his favorite toy and seemed to take special pride in being petulant. He also teased Derek about his crush on Stiles constantly.

It's infuriating.

"Stiles doesn't smell like flowers, Scott," he says firmly.

Wrong thing to say.

"So you know what he does smell like then? Wow, Derek."

"Whatever. Do you know anything or not?" he huffs.

Scott shakes his head. "If you aren't actually crazy, and I'm still not sure on that one, then I don't know what to tell you. You said Stiles wasn't concerned at all so clearly he wasn't kidnapped. Maybe it's not a big deal."

"It could be," snaps Derek. "What if the Alphas can use whatever it is against Stiles?"

Scott finally looks a bit more concerned at that idea. "Fine. I'll call Allison and Lydia, see what they think. You're buying us pizza."

"Fine," returns Derek. "But I'm letting Isaac come over too."

If he wasn't so invested in whatever the hell is going on with Stiles, Derek would enjoy the way Scott blushes at the mention of Isaac's name.

His restraint is another one of Stiles' influences, though in more subtle ways since Stiles hasn't realized he's causing it.

Derek knows he can be a shitty Alpha. And for a while, he was pretty sure the Alpha stuff is what he's bad at. But as he started listening to Stiles and letting the teen be in charge even on something like research, Derek realized his real problem is being a good beta.

Because he is good at that. He can take orders and challenge others to get results exactly the way a beta should. But his natural tendency is to push until someone breaks him. There's always been an alpha, or a parent, a thought he doesn't acknowledge so much, that steps in to tell him to back off. Derek can sense that Stiles would do it if he really went off the edge but Stiles also respects the Alpha position too much to so blatantly undermine him.

But now Derek's the one who has to know when to back off. That's the tougher part for him. Being tactile has gone a long way. Isaac practically preens under his touch. Jackson has finally started to admit that he wants approval, even though he was one of the first pack members to seek out Derek when he started offering what Stiles calls pack cuddles.

Derek thinks of it as scenting, connecting with pack, but he supposes it is somewhat cuddly. It had become a more natural routine by the time they got Boyd and Erica back. The two are still skittish and much more subdued but they respond well to hugs or a hand squeezing comfort.

Even the human pack members don't shy away, though Allison still has a sense of panic about her. It's clearly no longer directed at him though, more of a general worry about her choice to be pack and once and for all denounce her huntress heritage.

The small touches—and his pack's reactions—are what clued him in to the changing feelings amongst the pack. Isaac and Scott are dancing around each other while Lydia and Allison are clearly together, though they've refrained from flaunting it.

Derek wants Isaac to be happy, so he tries not to make fun of Scott for being a complete puppy all over again.

"I'll go pick up pizzas and Isaac," says Derek, shaking himself out of his reverie.

"Get sodas too," adds Scott.

Derek gives him a dirty look. Manners are still important.

"Please," offers Scott in an apologetic tone.

Derek nods curtly, happy that Scott corrected his behavior so quickly, and slips out the window.

He's back about an hour later, having dropped Isaac off first, then going back for the food. When Derek walks through the front door, he finds the other four waiting in the living room. Allison's brought her bestiary with her and Lydia is armed with several folklore books and note-taking materials.

"So Stiles is vanishing into thin air?" verifies Lydia.

"Yes," answers Derek. "It happened last night."

"Is he okay" asks Isaac and Allison simultaneously.

"He's fine. He was acting like nothing happened but in that weird cagey way that only Stiles can pull off."

Lydia nods. She knows that look quite well.

"Okay then, let's go over what we do know. Once we've got enough information to make an educated guess, we'll figure out what to do next."

Derek's grateful that Lydia researches things a lot like Stiles' does. She tends to stay more focused, whereas Stiles will often explore tangents of other thoughts, but they still attack a problem in much the same way.

Scott pipes up first. "So he's disappearing into thin air. That means supernatural right?"

"Yes," says Derek. "But it doesn't narrow things down by very much. There are a lot of supernatural creatures who can appear and disappear at will."

"That's disconcerting," notes Allison.

He's quick to clarify. "No, there are very specific rules about it. It's helpful to the creature of course, but they can only go back and forth between specific places. It has to be within their territory. Though sometimes someone can appear in a more random place if tied to a mate. But for the most part, strictly territorial."

Lydia jots the information down. "Next. Has he done this before?"

Scott shakes his head. "Not that I've ever seen."

She turns. "Derek?"

"Last night was my first time experiencing it. And he definitely hasn't done anything like this over the last few months." Derek chooses not to go into detail about how he knows this. He also chooses to talk to Stiles about more than the disappearing trick. This crush turned pining business has reached past ridiculous.

Isaac pipes up. "Stiles feels a little bit colder lately though."

"Do you think something's bothering him?" asks Allison.

"Oh no, I meant like temperature," corrects Isaac. "It's not very much, and you humans always feel a little cool but sometimes lately he feels colder. It's weird."

"Hmm," says Lydia. "Derek, did Stiles say anything odd that you overheard?"

"He mentioned an Eira not liking them being late and a Nick that gets annoyed when Stiles wears red," answers Derek.

"Sounds like Nick would get along with Peter," laughs Scott.

"Eira is Welsh for snow," interjects Isaac. He ignores the baffled looks directed at him.

Derek laughs. "Next you're going to tell me Nick meant Saint Nick."

Lydia's eyes brighten at the idea.

"You're not serious."

She flicks a leftover slice of pepperoni at him. "It's irresponsible not to consider multiple options. Speaking of names though, if we knew Stiles' first name it might give another clue."

None of the five of them know it. Derek finally resorts to calling Jackson to call Danny, who hacks into school files, and finally reveals that Stiles' first name is Jokul.

"Jokul?" asks Scott.

"Family name?" suggests Allison.

Lydia puts the name into a google search, just to see what comes up. She purses her lips after a few moments and starts clarifying her research.

"Anything?" asks Derek, once his patience starts waning more than he can stand.

"Well I know it means glacier in Norwegian and that Jokul was a Viking term for Jack Frost." She sounds a bit frustrated.

Scott however, seems to find more interest in the idea. "When Matt killed all those people at the station, he asked Stiles what he turned into."

"Stiles doesn't turn into anything," says Lydia.

"I know," snaps Scott. "Stiles joked that he was the abominable snowman but that it was a seasonal thing."

"So?"

"So what if it really is seasonal?"

"Stiles' dad's name is John," suggests Alllison. "That gets shortened to Jack quite often."

"And last night began the winter solstice," adds Derek.

Lydia looks sharply from face to face. "This is the theory we want to go with? We're asking Stiles if he or his father are, in fact, Jack Frost?"

Derek nods, putting the Alpha approval on the plan. "Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

No one wants to wait to talk to Stiles, so with a quick call to the other wolves, they head to the Stilinski house.

Boyd and Erica choose to stay home, knowing Derek will catch them up later.

Jackson doesn't answer his phone. As per usual. Derek suspects he's hanging out with Danny as the two have been trying to work on their friendship. It sounded like Danny had someone over earlier when they called him anyway.

There's a note on the front door telling Derek to head inside whenever he gets there. A bowl of spaghetti is drawn in the corner to indicate that night's dinner plans.

Allison and Isaac exchange smirks at the way Stiles clearly expects Derek to show up at some point.

Derek ignores them, because he is above their ridiculous behavior.

He's really not, but it makes him feel better.

The first thing he notices is that the house is ridiculously cold. To the point that he and the other two boys are shivering by the time they make it to the living room where they can hear the two Stilinski men.

"Derek!" yells Stiles in glee, turning to look at the pack. "You have to see what I can do! It's amazing."

"Um, Stiles, we kind of need to talk to you," Scott says, his voice belaying the seriousness of their visit.

John's hands move into his pockets and he turns towards Derek. Stiles also stops and focuses.

"What's going on?" he asks. "By the way Derek, I need to talk to you too."

"I don't really know how to put this," begins Lydia.

"Are you Jack Frost?" asks Derek, then blushes because that was a really dumb way to ask a question. Plus while he's like 98% sure that whatever's going on, Stiles is still himself, there's the chance he's being controlled and confrontation is just asking for trouble.

"Yes," answers Stiles. "Well sort of. Dad and I share the gig but yeah."

"Oh," says Derek.

"Will you go on a date with me?" asks Stiles to Derek. He sounds nonchalant but Derek can smell the hope and desire in Stiles' voice.

"Yes," Derek answers, lips twitching up in a grin.

"Cool," Stiles moves over to give him a hug.

Derek quickly turns it into a kiss, not really caring that they have an audience. It's very quick, just enough to catch Stiles off guard and Derek is pulling away before Stiles can figure out how to adapt and do much kissing back.

"Well that was anti-climatic," comments Lydia. She moves to sit in a corner of the sofa, pulling Allison down with her.

"Also, this means Boyd won both bets," inserts Isaac.

Scott groans.

"You bet on us dating?" Derek demands an explanation from his pack.

"On when it would happen, whether it would take outside influence, and if you'd say no the first time Stiles asked," Allison ticks off the items on her fingers. "I thought mistletoe would be involved on Christmas."

"That's…that's just," Stiles sputters.

"Erica's suggestion was to tie you together and leave you in Stiles' bed," offers Scott.

Sheriff Stilinski laughs. "On behalf of my sanity, thank you all for keeping Erica from managing that."

"I won the last bet," says Lydia.

The other pack members stare at her. "Really?"

She nods. "Anybody watching can see that Derek trusts Stiles now. I don't know why you all thought he'd angst over dating Stiles in the first place."

Isaac pouts. "Well he is only seventeen."

"Thanks for the reminder," says John.

Derek glares at Isaac. "He's still an adult. He deals with enough adult shit."

"Plus it's not like we're going to go on one date and then start humping like bunnies," interjects Stiles.

A chorus of responses echo over each other.

"Don't make me pull the protective father card."

"Why would you say things like humping?"

"Oh god, I'm not going to be able to eat rabbit for like the next six full moons."

"Why am I imagining this?!"

Derek's response is to kiss Stiles because well, it kind of makes the most sense to him.

He lingers a little bit, teeth nipping at Stiles' bottom lip. Then he sits down in his usual chair and Stiles curls himself on Derek's lap.

"You're so cold," says Derek. Now that the moment is over, the temperature is starting to get to him again.

John gives a quick flick of his hand in the air. "Sorry about that guys. Stiles and I were working on a couple ideas."

The cool air dissipates quickly, leaving only a normal temperature in it's place.

"So you're really Jack Frost?" confirms Derek. "Both of you?"

Stiles nods. "Yeah it's a father/son gig. But only seasonally. That's why I never brought it up. Well partly because it hasn't had a chance to come into play yet and partly I didn't want to say anything until I knew what I could do with the power."

Allison looks puzzled. "You didn't practice before?"

"Not really. We do our job but winter creatures, at least our band of them, aren't the dark ones. I usually don't deal with kanimas and alpha packs and hunters."

Lydia jumps in. "How are there two of you? Jack Frost legends say it's one person, a sprite and a mischief maker. And you're only supposed to be able to create frost and introduce cold weather. Unless the darker stuff comes into play like separating shadows but you said you aren't bad and…"

John holds up his hand to stop her. "Lydia, I promise that Stiles can answer all your questions. In the meantime, I'm going to make lunch. Grilled cheese and tomato soup okay for everyone?"

There are several nods, Derek included, and John exits the room. Then he, like the rest, turn back to Stiles.

"So?" Lydia's patience has clearly lasted as long as possible.

"First off, you need to know that the Jack Frost legends are kind of shit. With the exception of good ol' Santa, who prefers to be called Nick by the way, a vast improvement over the last guy who held the position. That one expected Pere Noel always and seriously dude, talk about overcompensating. Father Christmas? This isn't Narnia." Stiles smirks when Derek rolls his eyes at him for going on a tangent.

"Anyway," continues Stiles, "the Jack Frost side of things has always been a two man job. One is the son who covers more of the sprite side of things and has a few more tangible abilities. That's me. But the legends also call Jack by his other name, Old Man Winter. That's the father role, in this case Dad."

"Don't you dare start calling me old man!" John yells from the kitchen.

Derek stifles a laugh along with Isaac and Allison.

"We get our powers, as much as they are, on the Winter Solstice. That's where I went last night. Cold and frost obviously start sooner but that's part of the Autumn team's clean up work. We kick off the real winter."

Scott pipes in. "So is your dad like a guardian of sorts? Looking out for you while you make it colder?"

Stiles shakes his head. "Dad's got most of the cool powers. Like the whole changing the temperature thing? Totally him. Plus he could like frost out the entire city in a few minutes if he really wanted to."

"What do you do?" asks Derek.

"Most of the time I'm around to provide back up to Dad. But I'm also the one that works on little projects, like the way frost looks like etchings on a window pane. I have the focus that he doesn't. Plus, because Dad has so much power, he ends up going way overboard on small stuff."

Derek raises an eyebrow in curiosity and Stiles collapses into giggles.

John walks back in and hands out food. "Don't you dare tell that story, Stiles."

"But it's so funny!"

"It wasn't my fault! I was trying to do a nice thing for Mrs. Calvin."

Derek considers pushing for the story when John hands him a plate that has a different grilled cheese. There's a slice of Irish smoked cheddar mixed with the regular cheese and he got the good bread. Derek decides quite fast that if John is going to go to that much effort over him, he's going to be polite.

Isaac has no such qualms. "Spill," he demands.

Stiles grins. "So Mrs. Calvin kept on complaining about how it was so warm and she didn't even need full on snow. Just a little frost on the windows when she woke up to make it feel like winter. I told Dad I would set it in motion after I finished my homework but someone wasn't very patient."

"What happened?" Lydia's just as invested.

"You guys remember that freak blizzard that roared through Beacon Hills county for a week straight a few years ago?"

Isaac, Scott, and Lydia, who were the only other three living in the town at the time, find their eyes going wide. "That was you?!" squeaks Scott, gaping at John.

"I said it was an accident."

Stiles laughs. "Anyway, now I take care of small projects. And today we were practicing a few things to see what else I can pull off. I'm gonna try them out on Jackson first chance I get."

"Don't be mean," says Allison softly.

Stiles' phone rings just then, startling the room. He pulls it out of his pocket and Derek can see Jackson's picture on it. Well, technically the picture is of a pair of lizard-skin shoes but Stiles considers it to be a pretty excellent likeness. Or so he says. Derek keeps insisting the shoes need a hipster scarf with them.

"Speak of the devil," he says as he answers. "Finally decide to return your missed calls?"

"Stiles!" Jackson's voice is terrified and it sounds like he's been sobbing. "You have to help me. Where's Derek?"

Derek yanks the phone out of Stiles' hand. "Jackson? What's going on? What happened?"

"It's Danny," chokes out Jackson. "The alphas took him."

"We're on our way," says Derek quickly. He appreciates that Stiles immediately hops up and starts shooing the pack out the door and towards the jeep. "Where are you?"

"Danny's house," answers Jackson.

"Okay. I'll fix it, Jackson," Derek reassures him. "I promise."

He feels Stiles grip his arm at the door. "We'll get Danny back," says Stiles firmly, and Derek takes comfort in Stiles' surety.

"Besides," adds Stiles with a grin. "Now I can show off my new skills."


	4. Chapter 4

As the pack converges on the Alphas hide-out, Derek watches Stiles as much as he observes his surroundings. He loves the way Stiles is more fearless than any of them. It's not the Jack Frost part either. Stiles is always sure of why he makes his decisions, even if the outcome is uncertain. It's an admirable quality, though it scares Derek at the same time.

"What's the plan?" asks Scott quietly.

"Me," answers Stiles.

Derek puts a hand on Stiles' arm. "Are you sure?" He's not questioning Stiles' ability, just that the teen has fully thought through his decision.

Stiles nods. "I've got this."

Allison and Lydia have crossbows drawn, while Scott bares his teeth. Derek is grateful to see that Isaac is sticking close to Jackson, who is struggling to keep from rushing in, completely wolfed out. "What can we do to help?" asks Derek. He inclines his head slightly towards Jackson, indicating what else he's asking.

Stiles' eyes flicker slightly, recognizing the concern. "Mostly a show of force. But Jackson and Isaac should be ready to get Danny out of there quickly. Can you handle that Jackson?"

Jackson nods. His body is shaking with emotion and nervous energy. "I can do that," he growls.

"Good," says Derek. "They should know we're here by now."

Stiles grins. "Let's go introduce ourselves."

The full Alpha pack walks outside within seconds of Stiles' words, proving they were listening. One, Aiden, is holding onto Danny. Jackson lunges and is checked by Isaac, who whispers softly to him, calming Jackson down enough.

"Alpha Hale," begins Deucalion. "I was under the impression I had made myself clear the last time we met. I will return your betas if and when I choose."

"I'm afraid that's not how things are working anymore," answers Derek. "You've invaded my town, disturbed the peace, and brought harm to my pack. This ends today."

Kali lets out a laughing growl. "You still are young and foolish aren't you? Try spending some time with me instead of the teenager next to you. I can show you all about how to be a real Alpha."

Derek starts laughing when Stiles responds to the Alpha's taunts with "Sorry, sweet cheeks. Derek and I are a package deal and I'm afraid the sale just ended."

The she-wolf snarls at him but stops at Deucalion's raised hand. "We can either come to an agreement Alpha Hale, or you and your pack can be wiped out tonight. The agreement of course being that you will come with us and the wolves of your pack will be killed." Deucalion looks to Derek. His eyes are unforgiving and Derek marvels at how these other Alphas can run with him, especially considering that if Deucalion was given the same offer, he wouldn't hesitate to decimate his packmates if it meant more power.

"I'm sorry to disappoint," offers Derek, and he senses Stiles step into an offensive position. "But the deal is that you and your pack will leave town immediately. My beta will be returned. And you will never step foot in Beacon Hills again."

Deucalion growls, dark and furious, and gives a flick of his hand at Ethan.

The werewolf leaps forward, targeting Allison and Lydia. Ethan takes a step, then hesitates.

He tries another step. Slower. Derek watches and notices that Ethan is moving much slower than mere caution would imply.

"What the fuck?" snarls Ethan. He shivers.

Stiles gives him a cruel smile. "Cold, puppy? Keep moving and it will get worse."

Aiden growls and lets go of Danny.

Derek can sense Stiles' primary focus shift to Aiden, most likely because Danny is currently free. He motions to Jackson and Isaac, who leap forward and pull Danny to safety behind the others.

"What are you doing to them?" demands Deucalion, as he watches all three of his fellow Alphas stand frozen in the snow.

"Oh don't worry, Deucalion," says Stiles. "I wasn't going to leave you out."

"Stiles?" asks Lydia, noting that all four Alphas are now shivering uncontrollably and can't move.

"All the water in their body is freezing," says Stiles in answer. "You all remember biology class, right? Even a werewolf body is made up of quite a bit of water. And it's not moving any more. Each drop is freezing, keeping them from moving or feeling any sort of warmth."

Stiles moves his hands, letting his fingers flutter upwards as though making a gesture of fire. "If you freeze at cold enough temperatures, the cold can start to burn."

Aiden screams in agony, and Derek swears he can see steam start to rise from the werewolves' pores.

Stiles looks over at him. "I believe they're ready to renegotiate the terms."

Derek takes back over, pleased that Stiles recognized the need for the Alpha to finish the negotiations. Not that he particularly minds if Stiles continued, but this will cause their reputation to spread to other packs. Having a powerful second is fine. But the Alpha of a pack needs to be powerful as well.

He settles things within a few minutes. The second Derek nods to Stiles, the wolves are unfrozen and run as fast as they possibly can to get away. He's tempted to make a tails between their legs joke but refrains.

"Take Danny home," Derek says to Jackson. "Lydia, can you and Isaac go with him?" While the couples have shifted over the last several months, Jackson still finds comfort in Lydia's presence and Isaac has a knack for calming people down. He also has a knack for vengeance, but the pack won't find that out until later.

"Of course," says Lydia. She places her hand gently on Jackson's arm, who's carrying Danny and trying to stop crying, and leads them away.

"Will he be okay?" asks Stiles softly.

"I think Danny just needs time," interjects Scott. "Doesn't look like they harmed him too badly."

Derek wraps his arm around Stiles, "Jackson will be okay too. He just needs to reassure himself that Danny is fine."

Stiles leans against him and visibly relaxes. "Good."

Allison looks over at Derek. "Do you need us to do anything?"

He thinks for a minute. "Stiles, can we use your house?"

Stiles nods. "I'm sure Dad will be fine with that."

"Then Allison if you could put in our usual order of Chinese food and pick up some sodas as well, then bring it to the Stilinski's in a couple hours that would be great. Scott, I'll send you to bring Jackson and the others. Danny trusts you and Jackson will be reassured when he senses that." Derek knows very well that while the entire pack will seem overwhelming at first, Danny and the others need this.

They've all been separated into smaller groups, trying to refrain from being targets. Plus with Boyd and Erica struggling to overcome their fears with the Alphas on the street, the pack hasn't felt whole for quite some time. Something in his gut tells Derek that a pack night of movies and food and the cuddles that Stiles swears by are exactly what they need.

Scott and Allison turn to leave, Allison promising to drop Scott off at the Whittemore house on her way to pick up food. Derek suspects that Lydia will leave with Allison, as the two girls don't like to spend too much time apart.

"What do you need from me?" Stiles looks at Derek expectantly.

Derek kisses him briefly, relishing in the taste of Stiles' lips and gloating inwardly that Stiles is his now.

"Anything else?" teases Stiles.

"Come with me to get Boyd and Erica?" he asks. "She trusts you a little more than me." It's the truth but it doesn't feel as painful as it once did. Derek knows that Stiles will work to bring up Erica's trust in both of them, rather than use it to undermine his status as Alpha.

Stiles nods. "Sounds good. But tomorrow night, I claim as date night. Agreed?"

Derek grins and kisses him again. "Agreed."

* * *

**Trust me on this, their date is going to be the cutest thing ever. I have most of it already written. But first, there will be some pack feels. Plus I owe a reader a cute little Allison/Lydia moment. **


	5. Chapter 5

Stiles bounces loudly into the apartment that Derek finally rented, the one that Derek normally shares with Isaac. Isaac's been at Scott's quite a bit lately which has worked out nicely since Boyd and Erica pretty much live in Isaac's bed.

Derek knows Stiles is being loud because the wolves need it, need to hear normal sounds instead of the constant stealth of the Alpha pack. He hopes so much that this news will be the beginning of his pack's healing.

"What's up, wolvies?!" Stiles calls out as he enters the apartment and starts digging through the fridge for the sodas he knows Derek hides for him.

Erica and Boyd meander into the kitchen, sitting down at the island.

"I'm guessing you got Danny back," says Boyd.

"Is he okay?" asks Erica, and Derek can tell she's asking what the alphas did to him.

"Danny's with Jackson, Isaac, and Lydia right now," answers Derek. "We're going to go over the Stilinskis' to talk to Danny and spend some time together as a pack. A whole pack."

Erica's eyes get that scared look in them again. "I don't think we should leave. Deucalion's probably pissed and if we go out alone, we'll be in danger. I'm sorry, Derek."

Stiles closes the fridge door and moves so he's standing next to Derek. The werewolf reaches an arm out and pulls Stiles closer, happy that the teen is relaxing against him.

"That's new," comments Boyd.

"There's a lot of new going on today," says Stiles. "For one, yes Derek and I are dating now. I asked, he said yes."

"Sweet." Boyd looks quite pleased with himself and Derek can't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I heard that means you won the bet. More importantly," continues Stiles, "My dad and I are the here-to-for believed to be mythical creature Jack Frost. But the best news is that the Alpha pack is gone."

Stiles' entire face lights up with glee. Derek doesn't even need to be human to sense the pride radiating off Stiles, and he's happy because it's more than deserved.

Erica swipes a drink of Stiles' soda. "What do you mean the Alpha pack is gone? Like one of their temporary things where they just come back in a few weeks and torture us more?"

Derek grins, bright and pure. "Stiles was amazing. He'll show you some more of what he can do later but he had all of the Alphas running out of town within a few minutes. They're gone for good. We won."

"We won," breathes Boyd.

Derek can hear the uncertainty, the fear of believing that things might finally be working out. He takes a deep breath and decides to take another step in helping the pack. Derek lets go of Stiles, walks around the island and wraps his arms around both Boyd and Erica. The pair still for a second, unsure, and then first Erica, followed quickly by Boyd, wrap their arms around him and cling tightly.

Stiles smiles at the trio, happy to see part of their pack feeling safe again.

Derek is hit with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment as he holds onto his betas. Normally Stiles and he reverse these roles, though it's never been this blatant on either side. But usually Stiles tends to offer a hug or bring over food randomly or do other things that nurture the pack, while Derek sticks to protecting them. He loves the feeling that when necessary, Stiles can go on offense and he can comfort his pack. It reminds him of how his parents ran things. The thought makes Derek choke up slightly, and he lets go of the two werewolves to move back to Stiles.

"So," Stiles starts talking again as if nothing happened, knowing that none of the wolves will want attention drawn to the moment. "We were thinking movie night at my house. Allison's getting Chinese food and everyone will be there. We'll watch Christmas movies and get a chance to spend some time together without having to worry about the next crisis."

Erica moves around the counter and hugs Stiles. "I can wear pajamas to this shindig right?"

"Of course. Now move it wolvies!"

* * *

The rest of the pack has gathered by the time they arrive and luckily everyone seems to be in good spirits. Derek sees that Danny is calm and talkative, though he resolves to talk to the young man later and make sure he's not putting on a good face. It doesn't feel like it though. Derek gets the sense that Danny wasn't with the Alphas long enough for them to do anything, and as a result it was only Jackson who was most upset.

Jackson, Derek observes, is practically glued to Danny's side. He keeps touching Danny in some way and though the other keeps reassuring Jackson, Danny doesn't appear to be upset about the contact.

Derek wonders how it is that he managed to pick an entire pack of people who needlessly pine for the people who already love them. Not that he has much room to talk.

John Stilinski is pulling plates and silverware out and passing it to Allison, who is dishing up the food. John turns. "Derek, I thought you might like to know that there was a very nasty winter storm that blew in this evening. Apparently it caused some wildlife to get a bit turned around."

"Really?" questions Derek with a feral grin. "How turned around will they end up?"

"Seattle," answers John and Derek laughs out loud. Deucalion royally pissed off the Seattle pack years ago and part of his gaining Alphas scheme has been in attempt to protect against them. Most large cities are neutral territory, with a few packs running small territories on the outskirts. But a few, Seattle, Boston, and Milwaukee are the main three in the US, are run by a single pack. The rules are both more flexible and more stringent. Derek suspects he'll get word within a few weeks that Deucalion's pack is dead.

"Overkill much?" Stiles rolls his eyes at his father.

John shrugs. "It was fun. Speaking of, I'm supposed to meet up with Eira and Boreas to put an eastern cold front in motion. Enough kids want a white Christmas. Do you need anything before I head out?"

"Yeah, actually." Stiles pulls his dad aside and scribbles a few things on a piece of paper. They carry out their written conversation for a few minutes, then John moves away, gives the pack a little wave and disappears.

Derek slips an arm around Stiles' waist. "Everything okay?"

"Perfect," returns Stiles, leaning in for a quick kiss. "So, movies?"

Derek nods. "I figure Danny can pick first, then Erica, then Boyd." Derek really is trying to be nice to the more recently hurting members of the pack. But he also knows their favorite Christmas movies. And as much as he enjoys Home Alone, he'll go crazy if Scott gets to pick it again. Especially since Scott's choice of Home Alone has to be followed by the shit-tastic sequels.

"I pick Prancer," says Danny.

"Love Actually," inserts Boyd.

"Die Hard," adds Erica with a grin.

Lydia gapes at them. "You are all so weird."

"What the hell is Prancer?" asks Scott.

Derek makes a whining noise. "You've never seen Prancer?" Strike his previous older brother feelings around Scott. Now he's utterly appalled. Prancer is quite possibly the best Christmas movie there is.

"You're a heathen," spits Jackson. Derek has never loved him more.

It takes a bit more ribbing and teasing, but eventually the entire pack has managed to make their way into the living room. Derek watches as everyone figures out a place that still allows them to touch as many fellow pack mates as possible. He can feel the pride and contentment emanating from Stiles and knows the same emotions are pouring from him as well.

He can do this. He needs Stiles, to challenge him and love him and complement him, just as Derek will do for Stiles. But days like today, even with the danger, show him that he can have a family again. Derek muses that someone needs to rewrite the Jack Frost legend. It doesn't do the truth nearly enough justice.

When Stiles puts his head on Derek's shoulder, Derek curls back into Stiles. They fall asleep some time after Hugh Grant is dancing in the hallways.


	6. Chapter 6

"So where to?" asks Derek as Stiles slides into the passenger seat of the camaro. He spent the day, or the afternoon to be more accurate since the morning was nearly wasted with the entire pack sleeping in then going to breakfast, talking with his betas. Derek and Scott worked out a training program for everyone, from basic fighting technique to territorial laws. It felt like the beginning of a good partnership.

"Head towards the northeast side of the preserve please," says Stiles. There's a distinct scent of self-satisfaction radiating from the teen.

"Anywhere specific?"

"As close as you can get to that small pond."

Derek nods his assent and drives. It's quiet as they drive, something that a while ago Derek wouldn't have thought possible with Stiles. But now he knows better.

He knows that Stiles actually prefers silence to words. Oh Stiles can talk, enjoys conversation more than most people. But Derek's noticed that Stiles is also very good at sensing other people's discomfort and talking to cover that up. There aren't many people who are happy to simply sit and enjoy someone's company.

So when he gets these moments with Stiles, Derek chooses to relish them. He slides one hand onto Stiles' leg, tracing small circles with his thumb.

Stiles has a hand on the back of Derek's neck. It's only a few minutes until both are making their circles in sync with each other. They fell into the rhythm easily, a realization that makes Derek smile a little.

"What?" asks Stiles softly, catching the movement.

"I'm just happy," answers Derek.

"Mmm. Me too."

Derek manages to get about a quarter mile away from the pond, any further and they'll be pushing the car out of a ditch. Stiles seems to be perfectly okay with this, since his smile brightens and his usual bouncy energy is back full force.

Stiles links his fingers through Derek's and tugs him along.

They walk for maybe five minutes, taking longer because of the snow, and then as they emerge from the tree line Derek stops.

Normally, Beacon Hills gets a light dusting of snow. The Sheriff's storm last night had caused more snow to fall but it was being called a weather anomaly or something. Derek's been to the pond in the winter on runs or perimeter watches. The edges sometimes freeze but for the most part, it stays in liquid form.

Not today. Today the pond is frozen solid. There's snow all around and frost patterns glisten from the tree tops. It looks like a wonderland. Sitting on the edge of the ice, closest to the two of them, are two pairs of ice skates.

"Stiles?" questions Derek, unable to look away from the sight.

Stiles squeezes Derek's hand a little tighter. "I know Christmas is tough with all the memories. Doing something with the apartment felt too much like pushing. But I remembered something you said about you and Laura, and how you missed it…"

"Ice-skating at Rockefeller Center," interjects Derek.

"Yeah. So I asked my dad last night, that's what I was writing, to help me out. He and Eira used a little winter magic for us." Stiles looks over at Derek, a flare of nervousness apparent. "Is it okay?"

Derek can't help himself. He pulls Stiles close and kisses him as though he can't think of anything he'd rather be doing. "It's perfect."

They spend the evening laughing and talking and skating. Derek thinks it feels like they've been dating for years, and he wishes momentarily that it were true. But then he knows in his heart that someday it will be and he doesn't want to miss all of these first moments with the two of them.

At one point Stiles produces a thermos of hot chocolate that they pass between each other.

Derek is happy. Without fear of what might happen next, or losing someone. He's simply content to be here with Stiles.

It's when they're lying in a snow drift much later, staring at the stars, that Derek realizes he has one more question.

"Stiles?"

"Hmm?"

"Why is this so easy?"

"Did you want it to be difficult?"

"No," answers Derek. "I just…all the trouble and us fighting and arguing constantly and then we somehow became friends…it seems kind of strange that we could fall so perfectly together in just one date."

Stiles props himself up on one arm and leans over to look at Derek. One hand traces along Derek's jaw line. "Maybe it was always easy. But we're the type of people to expect everything to be difficult, so we caused all the problems."

Derek gazes at Stiles thoughtfully and can tell he's not lying or unsure. "I don't want to cause problems anymore," he says, reaching a hand around to cup the back of Stiles' neck.

"Good," Stiles whispers as he bends the last few inches to lightly kiss Derek.

Derek kisses back gently, before opening up his arm so Stiles can cuddle closer. He pulls the boy he loves in close, kisses Stiles' head as he snuggles up.

"Stiles," he says quietly, watching the stars above them.

"Yeah," breathes Stiles, just as content.

"Merry Christmas."


End file.
